How to Love
by awriterofthings
Summary: Fiona fights between telling Imogen that she's in love with her and keeping it to herself.
1. Chapter 1

Fiona entered her loft with Holly J following behind her. They had gone grocery shopping, which had been amusing for Holly J. Fiona's girlfriend, Imogen was going to be spending the night at Fiona's condo and Fiona wanted to buy things that she thought the younger girl might like. Holly's J's favorite part of the whole trip was when Fiona had grabbed pancake mix since sh knew how much Imogen loved them, but realized that she would have to make it and decided on the girl's favorite cereal instead.

"You do realize that she's spending the night and not moving in, right?" Holly J set a brown bag on the counter.

Fiona set the other bag on the counter and looked at her best friend. "I just want everything to be perfect. She's never slept over before."

Holly J studied Fiona. The brunette seemed nervous. Holly J raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Is this just a sleepover or are you two... you know?"

Fiona blushed slightly. "Take your mind out of the gutter, Holly J. It's just a sleepover. Movies, toenail painting, making-out."

"Yes, because I made out with my friends during sleepovers," Holly J said, sarcastically. "It's more than just a sleepover. You two are going to be close in a different way... even if you're not... you know."

Fiona laughed. "Ohmygod, will you just say it?"

"I don't need to say it. You know what I mean. Anyway, what else needs to be done?" Holly J began to empty the grocery bags.

Fiona thought for a moment. She had already gotten her loft clean for when Imogen came over. As she ran a list through her head, she froze and looked at Holly J. "Should I let her sleep in the guest room or do we share a bed? Will she think I want more if we share a bed? Or do I wait for her to de-,"

"Fiona!" Holly J placed her hands on the brunette's shoulders. "Take a deep breath."

Fiona did as she was told.

Holly J shook her gently. "Calm down. You're not proposing marriage. You're just having a sleepover. Just let things happen the way they happen. Don't over think things."

"You're right. I need to relax." Fiona took another deep breath and moved to go sit on her couch.

Holly J followed and sat down as well. She had never seen Fiona like this over someone before. She had seen the girl in major liking of someone but this was different. This was... Holly J's eyes widened and she looked at Fiona with a big smile. "Are you in love with Imogen?"

Fiona resembled a fish the way her mouth opened and closed as she thought of how to respond. "Um... I.. uh..."

Holly J chuckled at the brunette's reaction. "Is that a yes?"

"She's really great." Fiona finally managed to get out. "And yeah... I do love her... a lot." The brunette dropped her head back on the couch and sighed. "Why do I always fall for people that won't feel the same way about me?"

"Hey, who says she doesn't feel the same way?" Holly J knew that her best friend had her heart broken before but she didn't want the girl to be a pessimist about love. She did want her to be careful, though. "If she isn't at love yet, she's getting there. I've seen you two together. Imogen definitely has strong feelings for you."

"You think so?" Fiona asked with a hint of a smile.

Holly J nodded. "I do. You should talk to her about it."

Fiona shook her head. "We're supposed to be taking things slow. I can't tell her that I'm in love with her. It'll freak her out."

Fiona had a point. Holly J couldn't argue against that. "Well, try to keep her around. I like her."

FIona grinned. "I'll do my best." She got up from the couch, pulling Holly J up with her. "Come on. You can help me decide what to wear."

Holly J frowned. "Aren't you just going to wear nightclothes?"

"Yeah, but do I wear my sexy lingerie or do I wear shorts and a t-shirt."

"Shorts and a t-shirt sound good to me." Holly J stared at Fiona who just stared right back at her. She sighed and rolled her eyes playfully. "You're going to make me go through nightclothes with you, aren't you?"

Fiona nodded with a puppy dog look in her eyes.

"Fine. Let me make myself something to eat then," Holly J said. "I know this may take awhile."

* * *

Holly J was sitting on Fiona's bed as Fiona finally decided on what she would be wearing tonight, which happened to be a pair of dark blue plaid pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. "You do realize we spent thirty minutes trying to figure out what you were going to wear to bed, right?"

Fiona plopped down beside Holly J. "Don't be mean. I have to look good for my girl tonight."

Holly J noticed a jewelry box for the first time on the dresser. "What's that for?"

Fiona followed where Holly J was looking and bit her lower lip. "Oh, that... that's nothing."

"It looks a lot like something." Holly J shot up from the bed and headed over to the dresser. She grabbed the box and flipped it open. Her eyes widened when she saw a white gold, three diamond ring inside.

"It's just a promise ring," Fiona said, quickly before her best friend got the wrong idea. "It looks more expensive than it really was. I'm not even giving it to her. I think I'll wait a bit longer... like maybe never."

Holly J closed the box and looked at Fiona. "Why would you buy it for her if you weren't going to give it to her?"

"I bought it for our fifth-month anniversary but then freaked about giving it to her. It's too soon for something like that."

"How long have you had it?" Holly J asked.

"A little over a month now. It's been hiding in my drawer but I took it out to look at it. I thought maybe I would give it to her tonight but then I came to my senses."

Holly J put the box back on the dresser. "It's very beautiful, Fiona. She'll love it whenever you decide to give it to her. She's very lucky to have someone as sweet as you."

"Thanks, Holly J," Fiona said with a big smile. Her phone vibrated and she picked it up from her nightstand.

_Hey, Fions. Can't wait to see you tonight! I can't believe we've gone all day without seeing each other. I miss you!_

Fiona smiled big as she responded to Imogen's text message.

"Imogen I'm guessing," Holly J began. "I can tell by the way your face lit up like a Christmas tree."

"That obvious, huh?" Fiona asked.

"Oh yeah, that obvious." Holly J gestured to the door. "Want to go do something before your sleepover starts?"

"Mall?" Fiona asked.

"Sounds good. Let's go."

The two got ready and left the condo to enjoy some best friend time together. Fiona couldn't get over being nervous about her night with Imogen, though. She thought her mind was made up about not telling the girl how she felt but maybe she shouldn't wait. Fiona sighed. She was going to go crazy before the sleepover even started.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

Fiona was standing in front of a mirror trying to decide if she should wear her hair up or down when she heard a knock at the door. She let her hair stay down and ran her fingers through it to make sure it looked good. She headed over to the door and opened it, smiling happily when she saw her girlfriend. "Hey you."

"Hey." Imogen leaned in and kissed Fiona before walking into the loft. "So what are we doing tonight?"

Fiona closed the door and turned to look at Imogen. "Well, I figured we could do a lot of kissing and maybe some other things in between and then more kissing."

Imogen laughed. "Oh yeah, is that your big plan for us tonight?"

"Pretty much." Fiona leaned in to give her girlfriend a kiss but Imogen backed away.

"Then it's a good thing that I have come prepared." Imogen set her backpack on the couch and pulled out a stack of cards."

Fiona made a disappointed face. "Cards? But making-out is so much more fun."

"We have plenty of time for that," Imogen assured her. "I brought movies, too."

"Genre?" Fiona asked.

"Science fiction and horror."

Fiona smiled and kissed Imogen on the lips. "That's my girl. So how was your day?"

"It was good. I spent most of it with my dad." Imogen pulled out her pajamas from her backpack. "What'd you do?"

"Hung out with Holly J." Fiona gestured to the clothes in Imogen's hand. They were a pair of pajama bottoms and a shirt that read, 'I would cuddle you so hard.' "Nice shirt."

Imogen grinned. "I bought it the other day. I figured it'd be fitting for tonight."

Fiona smirked and moved closer to Imogen. "Will we be having a cuddle-fest?"

"Most definitely." Imogen placed a kiss on Fiona's cheek. "I'm changing. You should, too."

"Okay, you can use the bathroom to change."

"Here's fine." Imogen started stripping down, which took Fiona by surprise. She couldn't help but stare at her girlfriend's body. Imogen laughed and pushed Fiona towards the bedroom. "Go change, perv."

"Tease," Fiona muttered before heading to her bedroom. They had both decided to take things slow when it came to sex and talk to each other when either girl decided they were ready so that there wasn't pressure of any sort. Fiona still liked to do _a lot_ of touching, though and right now she wanted to be making-out with Imogen.

While Fiona was changing, Imogen picked a horror movie and got it ready to play. She grabbed a bag of jolly ranchers she had brought along with her and sat on the couch. A few minutes later, Fiona sat down beside Imogen.

Imogen moved so that they were closer and Fiona used the remote to play the movie.

"Your shirt's promising something that you're not delivering," Fiona quipped.

Imogen chuckled and moved even closer to her girlfriend, resting her head on her shoulder. "Better?"

"It'll do for now but I expect some hardcore cuddling later."

Imogen lifted her head to kiss Fiona on the cheek. "Deal." She laid her head back down on Fiona's shoulder and smiled. She could already tell that tonight was going to be a good night.

* * *

Fiona's lips trailed along Imogen's neck and Imogen had to stop her for the umpteenth time. "Pay attention to the movie. You're missing all the awesome death scenes."

Fiona nipped at Imogen's jaw. "I'm multi-tasking." She placed her hand up the front of Imogen's shirt and ran her hand along her stomach. "They're all going to die. The end. Kiss me."

"Why do I bother trying to watch movies with you?" Imogen asked. "You never let us finish them."

Fiona pulled back from her actions. "That's not true. We finished the last movie we watched together."

"I had to make you sit on your hands so you'd stop trying to coax me into a make-out session."

Fiona laughed at the memory of that day. "But we still finished the movie."

"You're ridiculous." Imogen kissed Fiona deciding she wasn't going to win this battle.

Fiona broke the kiss and grabbed the remote. "Screaming doesn't really make for romantic background music." She turned off the TV and moved back in to kiss Imogen.

"Let's play a game," Imogen said.

Fiona groaned. "Can we play it after?"

"No." Imogen pushed Fiona away and pulled a jolly rancher from her bag. She set the bag on the floor and unwrapped the jolly rancher that she held.

"What's the game?" Fiona asked, less than thrilled.

Imogen held up the jolly rancher. "Try to get this from me," she said before placing the candy in her mouth.

Fiona smiled. "Now this is my kind of game." She kissed Imogen and her tongue trailed along the younger girl's lips. Imogen parted her lips and felt Fiona's tongue enter her mouth. Fiona tried to get the jolly rancher but Imogen's tongue battled against her own, stopping her.

After minutes of this, Fiona finally got the jolly rancher into her own mouth. She pulled away from Imogen and took a moment to catch her breath. "I got it. What now?"

"Now I try to get it back." Imogen moved in, crashing her lips to Fiona's.

_Yeah, this is definitely going to be on my list of best games ever. _Fiona thought.

* * *

After their make-out session, Fiona was more willing to finish the movie and play whatever card game Imogen wanted to play. They were currently playing blackjack.

Imogen leaned over the coffee table and kissed Fiona.

Fiona smiled at the gesture. "What was that for?"

"I like you all docile. I didn't know kissing you was all it took to get you to do what I want."

Fiona laughed and shook her head. "Don't get used to it. And it's not the kissing."

"No? Then what is it?"

"It's because I lo-," Fiona began to purposely cough, realizing she was about to tell Imogen that she loved her.

"Are you okay, babe?" Imogen stood up. "I'll get you water."

Fiona was glad that Imogen didn't ask her to finish her sentence. She silently scolded herself. She'd have to be more careful about what she let slip. She didn't want Imogen to feel obligated to say it back or for the girl to freak-out and leave her if she didn't feel the same.


	3. Chapter 3

Imogen and Fiona were cuddling on the couch talking about anything that came to mind and in the middle of one of her sentences, Imogen yawned. Fiona began to mentally freak out. If Imogen was ready for bed, then she would have to bring up the awkward conversation of where the girl would sleep.

"Hey, Fions," Imogen began. "Are you ready for bed?"

"Um, yeah." Fiona got up from the couch. "Did you want to sleep in the guestroom or my room? It's totally fine if you want to sleep in the guestroom. I just want you to be comfortable. Or I could sleep in the guestroom and you can sleep in my room. I could even let y-,"

"Fiona!" Imogen cut in. She took the girls hands into hers and squeezed lightly. "You're so freakin' cute. Do you know that?" Fiona blushed but gave no response. "I'm sleeping in your room, silly... unless you want me elsewhere."

"No, I want you with me," Fiona said, quickly. "I just wanted you to have the option to sleep wherever you wanted."

Imogen leaned in and kissed the girl. "You're so cute. Come on. Let's get ready for bed."

The two got ready for bed silently and once they were done, Imogen threw herself onto Fiona's bed. Fiona laughed and crawled into bed next to Imogen.

"Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed or is wherever good for you?" Imogen asked.

"This is fine," Fiona assured her. "What would be great, though, is if you turned off the light."

Imogen frowned. "But I'm all comfortable and warm now. You were the last to lay down."

Fiona pouted and blinked her eyes at the younger girl.

"I've become immune to your pouts." Imogen pretended to not be paying Fiona any mind.

Fiona poked her in the side causing her to squeal. The tickle fest began and only stopped when Imogen begged her to. "Will you turn off the light?"

Imogen tried to catch her breath from the laughing she had been doing. "Cheater."

Fiona grinned. "Are you going to do it?"

"Nope," Imogen said. "I'm the guest. You have to do it."

Fiona sighed and got up from the bed. "Fine, but only because I love you." Fiona froze. Had she just said that out loud? She turned to look at Imogen whose eyes were wide with shock. That's not how she had planned on saying those words. She had prepared a speech in her head and everything. "I have to go to the bathroom," Fiona blurted out before rushing out of the room.

Imogen sat for another few seconds registering in her head what Fiona had just said to her. She broke out in a smile and got up from the bed. She went to the bathroom and knocked but didn't get a reply. "Fiona?" She tried the knob but it was locked. "Talk to me please." No response. "You can't sleep in there. I mean, you can, but it won't be very comfortable." Imogen sighed and went back into the bedroom to wait for her girlfriend. She wanted to say those three words back but she wouldn't say them through a door.

As she walked back towards the bed, she noticed a ring box on the dresser. Fiona kept all her jewelry in a jewelry box so she wondered what was so special about this ring. She picked it up and flipped it open. "Wow." Imogen took the ring out and admired it. She had never seen Fiona wearing this before. She went to put the ring back in the box when she noticed an engraving inside the ring.

_Imogen_ _I'll love you always._

Imogen's mouth fell open. The ring was for her. She left the room and went back where Fiona had locked herself. "Fiona Celestine Arabella Coyne open this door right now!"

Fiona opened the door and Imogen saw that she had been crying. "Fiona what's wrong?"

"I love you," Fiona said quietly. "And I'm sorry if it's too soon. It's just how I feel. I don't want to scare you away or anything so I hope you're okay with how I feel. I tried-,"

"Fions, stop talking," Imogen smiled, gently. "I don't see anything wrong with that."

Fiona wiped her eyes. "You're not freaked out right now?"

Imogen smiled. "Quite the opposite. I love you, Fiona."

Now it was Fiona's turn to be shocked. "You do?"

Imogen nodded. "Why do you sound so surprised? It's not hard to fall in love with someone as amazing as you."

"No one has ever reciprocated the feelings I have for them," Fiona admitted. "I kinda gave up on love but then I met you and this feeling just hit me. I didn't think I'd ever feel this way... I didn't even think I knew how to love anymore. And if I'm being honest, it all scares me."

"Then we can be scared together because it's all knew to me. What I do know, though, is that I love you and I'm not going anywhere."

Fiona smiled and reached for Imogen's hand but noticed the box in her hand. "Did you open that?"

Imogen handed Fiona the box. "Sorry, I thought it was just one of your many rings. I didn't know it was meant for me."

Fiona opened the box and looked at the ring she had bought awhile ago. "Do you like it?"

"I love it."

Fiona took the ring out of the box and slipped it on Imogen's finger. "It looks great on you."

"Thank you. It's beautiful." Imogen kissed Fiona. "Are you okay?"

Fiona nodded. "I am now."

Imogen pulled the girl to her for a hug. "So we're going to figure this love thing out together? It should be pretty easy, right? I love you, you love me. Should be smooth sailing."

"There might be some rough spots but yeah, that sounds pretty good."

"As long as you don't go locking yourself in bathrooms and you just talk to me, we should be fine," Imogen joked.

Fiona laughed. "Not my finest moment. So question. If I had told you how I felt about a month ago..."

"I would've told you I loved you too because I do and I have for awhile now. I wish you'd realize how great you are, Fions. You're the best girlfriend ever. And I'm glad your other relationships didn't work out because then I wouldn't be with you and I can't imagine life without you."

"You' always know the right things to say."

"It's not hard. I just say what's in my heart." Imogen clasped her fingers with Fiona's and pulled her towards the bedroom. "Ready for bed now?"

"I am." Fiona turned off the light and got into bed with Imogen.

The two cuddled up against each other and closed their eyes to go to bed. After a few seconds, Imogen spoke.

"Would you have really slept in the bathroom?"

"That bathtub wasn't looking so bad."

Imogen chuckled and kissed Fiona on the forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

The two girls fell asleep in each other's arms, thrilled about the new direction their relationship had taken. They would show each other how to love and how to be loved. They were now connected on a deeper level and things could only get better from there.

* * *

**THE END**

* * *

A/N: Thank you for the feedback. It's appreciated.

Krissyjoy: haha, the Spencer's store should have them.


End file.
